Doug was born November 27, 1967 in the St Lukes Hospital in Boise, ID to Jerry and Jean (Beverage) Smith. He had 4 siblings; one brother and 3 sisters.
Early in Doug's life his family lived in the mountains of Idaho where Doug gain a love for the great outdoors. He attended high school in Spanish Fork, UT
Doug suffered an injury to his leg on a drilling rig accident on the job in his early adulthood and suffered greatly from then-on with physical pain. He had many good years but was always battling the pains of a failed surgery to his back and spine. As time progressed he found that life was harder and harder to balance between the pain and the joy of living.
Doug loved to spend time with his family and when daughter Chelsea brought a new grandson home a new joy was brought into his life. Doug often talk like a scruffy old miner to appear tough to outsiders but we all knew him to be a gentle sole that love his family deeply. More than anything else in the world. His love for animals was a very close second. Everyone thought the Smith's were nuts with all the stray and rescued dogs Doug had around him always. I think at one point he had 6 of them all at the same time. Doug's brother took one of his strays off his hands for 15 years and that dog was the best friend his brother every had. Chelsea and Paul inherited the love for animals from their father. Chelsea earned a degree to work in zoos. And Paul has always been the caregiver of both the dogs and his father.
I love my brother Douglas! I have so many many good memories of our childhood playing together in the mountains of Idaho. Doug was a super good fisherman. He loved hunting and fishing. We worked hard and played hard. We loved to ski, hike, play sports and hunt. I will never forget his convictions. He even supported the Miami Dolphin football team to the end and they are not so good. He never gave up his body did. He was adventurous and often felt not listen too because of his future thinking. He actually hated it when years later we would acknowledge him for understanding world events before the rest of us. It was hard for me to watch his body fail him these past few years. I know he loves his family more than anything. His wife LeAnn, daughter Chelsea and son Paul where everything to him. They have had some tough times with Doug's physical issues this past many years but they stayed together though thick and thin. I admire them all for battling what most would deem as "too much". Life is very short for all of us and loosing a very good friend and my only brother gives me great pause. Like so many others, I am at a lost to have seen his departure coming. He so often these past many mouths had to battle great pain his is body. He has been on deaths doors many times in his life but this time he could not stop the inevitable. Fate has a way of surprising us all. I truly believe Doug is with both his mother and LeAnn's parents right now amongst other loving family members. If I could use one word to describe my brother it would be that he was deeply, and often misunderstood, LOVING.
ReplyDeleteI always remember uncle pug as the sweetest most supportive guy around! He was constantly encouraging me to draw and paint. He created my favorite color “pinky red” and encouraged my love for animals. As a child I always looked up to him and one day wanted to own just as many pets. He was a kind man who always checked in on things. He will be missed by many.
ReplyDeleteI will always remember how kind he was to me in the hospital during my emergency surgery. He was truly my guardian angel and stayed right by my side the whole time. Truly inspirational.
ReplyDeleteOne of my earliest memories of Uncle Doug was when I was six or seven years old and our family was living in Springville, UT. He showed up out of nowhere on our doorstep with a large gray shoe box that was duct-taped shut. When I opened it, it was elated to find it filled with several large, spiny lizards trying to escape into our front room! Doug knew I was obsessed with lizards and had never had a pet lizard before. He had caught them, boxed them all up, and driven out to where we lived to surprise me with them…
ReplyDelete…Over the passing years, whenever we had the chance to talk we would immediately reconnect through our shared love of critters. Even if chaos or calamity were ensuing against the backdrop of our reunion, Uncle Doug would always find a moment to manically share schemes about our future crazy plans to keep and breed exotic animals—and Uncle Doug’s plans were always crazier than mine: giant seahorse colonies, poison arrow frog breeding rooms, massive reef tanks with cuttlefish! Many of the grandiose plans were dreams, dreams that never quite materialized, and many would have certainly ended in comical and dramatic failure, but the fun was in the dreaming itself, and something that, throughout the years, was a special connection I always shared with Uncle Doug, and that I will always remember.
Uncle Doug was the life of the party. Anywhere he was at, it was fun. I've never laughed harder than I have when I was around him. From his detailed, passionate descriptions of conspiracy theories to his perfectly-timed and executed jokes - there was never a boring minute. He truly was the "fun uncle." Doug was well-connected in a lot of ways. He hooked me up with some limited-edition GameBoys as a kid which, if you knew me, you'd know I put a LOT of miles on. If I recall correctly, he knew somebody at Nintendo. Or maybe that was just part of the mystic haha. Either way, I was always happy around Doug. He was just so good at getting you excited for things - even if it was as simple as building a fire or trying a new cheese.
ReplyDeleteI had the pleasure of getting to spend time with him on a few different trips. The two most memorable were: Our trip to British Columbia and our fishing trip up some canyon in Utah. Our road trip was in Grandma and Grandpa's motor home. We drove up the Oregon and Washington coasts and into Victoria, CA. Doug taught me how to fish for crab while on the coast. We spent a lot of hours in the evenings catching Dungeness crab, and then steaming/cleaning them. I had so much fun just being with him (and Paul) and the experience is one I'll always treasure. The fishing trip was just a day excursion. We might have even hopped a fence or two to access the creek, but he showed us this great place to catch brown trout in an overgrown area next to a stream where you had to literally hide yourself from the fish, you were that close. He showed me the techniques to catch them in this manner, and I just had a blast.
It's been really difficult to process all this. Death is inevitable and, to a degree, uncertain. But not getting to say goodbye hurts - very deeply. I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel a level of regret for not actively seeking opportunities to spend more time with him. Life gets so busy, I think we should all do our best to acknowledge that it is delicate and must be cherished. I share my condolences, prayers, and support to Doug's immediate family members. I believe him to be in a better place and condition than the one he left. But the hole that this leaves in the lives of his family is an emptiness that cannot be completely filled.
I wish to say that I love my uncle Doug! If I had to choose one adjective to describe him as, it would be genuine. He was who he was. He cared deeply about his family. I always knew that he was there for me, that he had my back if I needed it. I'll always look back on the experiences we had together with great fondness.
Garrett Smith
Uncle Doug was only a teenager when I was born, so I always thought of him as a fun older brother. He loved hanging out with Rick and me from the time we were babies. We got to live in the same state as him until I was 8 years old and then we moved to AZ. We still had a blast whenever we visited each other. I remember when he came to AZ with Paul and Chelsea to visit and we celebrated Chelsea's birthday. We also had fun playing games and swimming while Uncle Doug cracked jokes. He had a great sense of humor and could always make us laugh.
ReplyDeleteI always thought he married the sweetest person ever! My aunt LeAnn always helps everyone and I've never heard her say anything unkind. I remember her always helping make everyone's lunch at family reunions. My uncle was lucky to have such a great wife, two amazing kids, and an especially sweet grandson.
He really did love animals, which is something we often bonded over. My older brother and my mom fostered my love of animals so whenever I was texting Uncle Doug it was a common theme. Just last year I sent him pictures of my crested gecko, which had climbed in my sleeve. He told me Paul really likes those. :) Doug told me he needs a cuttlefish and poison arrow frogs. He had really researched cuttlefish and knew he could only get them in the U.S. at a university for teaching purposes, but he always dreamed big. He also never gave up on his dreams, which I always admired. I remember how hard it was for him when his mom passed away, and I'm glad she could be there to welcome him. Uncle Doug has a big heart and he will be greatly missed! Love you Uncle Doug!